Greetings all,

I'm after a replacement estate car. My £500 Primera Estate is now in such a state that I'm embarassed to be seen in it!

It's to be my daily commuter but I'm also doing a house-refurb so lots of tip trips/builders merchants etc. are required so the space is vital.

An article in Sunday Times driving ranked a Mazda 6 as best but I'm told that the parts are pricey with Mazda by a mechanic friend. He has suggested a Volvo v70 diesel (which came 3rd on the times list). **

I can afford to spend up to £2k.

At the moment I'm very tempted by the Volvo....

Any advice? Any big no-no's on the Volvo or anything else I should look for? There's plenty on e-bay but they have often done big mileage.



Thanks!
James

[Edited on 28/10/15 by James]

I wouldn't worry to much about high mileage volvos they go forever if there looked after. I have a 850 t5r estate that's done 200k. Mazda 6 is a very good car my friend runs 2 of them in his taxi company.

volvo any day for a big estate. we have three in the family. there is a few things on the web about expensive repairs but that is rubbish volvo owner club have excellent forum and workarounds for all repairs

V70 d5 here, excellent car , very fast, economical and extremely comfortable.

Just change all the oils, mine is on 150k miles, not a single rattle although suspension is a bit woolly

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Originally posted by mark chandler
V70 d5 here, excellent car , very fast, economical and extremely comfortable.

Just change all the oils, mine is on 150k miles, not a single rattle although suspension is a bit woolly

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Had my 2005 V70 d5 for around 3 years now ,on the dash gauge it averages about 43 mpg with a mixture of long runs ( some towing a trailer ) and town driving.
Was advised when buying to get the latest 163bhp model I could get and avoid the 185bhp model because of the dpf.
Would also avoid pre 2004 autos .

Can't go far wrong with a mondeo estate, they are huge, well priced and well screwed together. basically the same as the mazda 6 (or so I thought)
Have a peek at the warranty direct website, it gives a reliability index to most cars and is well informed. Can make interesting (if you wear an anorak) reading.

Saying that, we ran our old zafira as a van for a year while we did extensive work on our house. It suffered a slight tear to the roof lining but otherwise coped well. They are cheap as chips. New diesel one is suffering with the well documented (once you look) gearbox bearing failure, but at under £400 for a full bearing change (fitted) isn't a disaster.

Never done less than 35mpg, it does lots of very short journeys for dog walks, long runs sitting in the fast lane and tows my little car as if it was not there.

Mine has the 6 speed geartronic box, around 500 miles to £80, run it on shell v-power btw.

If I drive it carefully this goes to 45mpg, it is a big car that swallows large loads with ease.

Any idea on the ride height of the v70? Someone on the volvo forum suggested it's low.

Reason I ask is my drive runs up to the road and the Primera grinds out on the 'hump'. My g/f's Fiesta is ok but I'm gradually ripping the exhaust off the Primera!

It means I have to park the Primera on the road before I fill the boot!

If you can tolerate the looks, I'd get a berlingo.

The ride is questionable, the interior is garish, but ours handled silly levels of abuse, occasionally suffering over a tonne in the boot, and parts were so cheap that it was never an issue. (saying that, only did general service bits, coilpack and exhaust)

Not that great at surviving front end impacts though.

My beige MK2 Cavalier Estate is incredibly reliable, nothing wrong with the older cars....

Keep the older thing running.

I'd vote mondeo estate. Cheap as could be, I got a 2006 for a grand, and I've managed 66mpg on a run.

Citroen C5 with 2.0 Hdi engine not the 2.2.

Rover 75 2.0 CDTI Tourer....... BMW engine and auto 'box, 135bhp and 45ish MPG. HUGE load area and cheap as chips. A far better car than the typical blinkered motorist will give them credit for. Get it remapped to 150bhp for around £150 and you have a proper wolf in sheeps clothing

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Originally posted by James
Any idea on the ride height of the v70? Someone on the volvo forum suggested it's low.

Reason I ask is my drive runs up to the road and the Primera grinds out on the 'hump'. My g/f's Fiesta is ok but I'm gradually ripping the exhaust off the Primera!

It means I have to park the Primera on the road before I fill the boot!

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Yes, I would second the Berlingo Multispace. Basically a van so loads of space. Sod the lack of street cred, it does what the tin says. If the budget stretches go for an XTR as the seats are removable so even MORE space.

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Originally posted by myke pocock
Yes, I would second the Berlingo Multispace. Basically a van so loads of space. Sod the lack of street cred, it does what the tin says. If the budget stretches go for an XTR as the seats are removable so even MORE space.

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I have a Volvo S60 d5 54 plate manual as my kit car tow car and my work car and I'm averaging 40+ mpg and a lot of that's stop start journeys went on the motorway last week it was busy so speeds where 60 to 70 mph and it was getting 55 mpg so I was impressed with that forget the image they are good cars ,autos are slower and use more fuel .

I have the Honda Accord CTDI.

Up in the 50s MPG, had it remapped to 180, so plenty of grunt for pulling my trailer / Locost.

Lovely luxury car, all the toys, reversing sensors, satnav, heated seats.

Look for one that has had the DMF replaced (mine failed at 150k).

I have experience of mk4 Mondeos and mine has been great. Doubt you'll find a big car for the same money that drives as nice.

The Mk4 2.0 tdi is a PSA engine so none of the old cam chain problems. Servicing is easy and cheap and mine does about 50mpg average as well. Eve the basic models are well kitted out.

Stu

Throwing my 2p in James, Have you looked at Saab 9-5 Estates? Unless you like tractors avoid the 2.2 diesel. I'm now on my third, a 1.9 Vector sport 56 plate for less than grand.

Just an Idea, Regards Dan.

I follow a different path when looking for a cheap reliable motor. Rather than start with the make and model I buy the best car that turns up at the least money. Current one is an 04 plate Peugeot 307 hdi estate. Cost next to nowt from the forecourt of a scrappy does 60mpg on a run with 40mpg average, is rust free. oil tight and hasn't missed a beat in 18 months and 13k miles, now showing 108k Wont even bother changing the oil or belts as it runs fine and will end up back in the scrappy anyway.
Ok I might change the belts.

I had a Saab 9-3 estate and it was a great car. Mine was an Aero ttid so probably outside your budget but generally very cheap, good 1.9 diesel etc. Wouldn't touch a Mazda with someone else's bargepole!